Brighton & Hove Albion need big performances from their best players to continue an outstanding record against some of the Premier League heavyweights.
They have done exceptionally well in the past against their next three opponents: Newcastle United, Manchester United and Arsenal. Head coach Fabian Hurzeler needs Carlos Baleba, Kaoru Mitoma, Georginio Rutter and Danny Welbeck firing on all cylinders to improve the chances of climbing into the top half of the table and reaching the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup by the end of October.
That has not been the case so far this season. The lead quartet have all been below par in the opening seven league games, as Hurzeler’s side sit 12th in the table with nine points. A positive spin on an average start to the campaign is the amount of room for improvement.
They will get better once Baleba, Mitoma, Rutter and Welbeck get their acts together. Following the summer sale of attacking spearhead Joao Pedro to Chelsea, the onus is on these four players to produce the type of displays that have helped achieve impressive results against the next three rivals.
Saturday’s visitors, Newcastle, have not won any of the eight Premier League meetings between the teams at the Amex Stadium (lost three, drawn five). Newcastle are the only club to visit Brighton five or more times in the competition without winning.
The Newcastle game is followed by a trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United on October 25. Although United are no longer the force of old, Brighton’s recent record against them is still remarkable for a mid-ranking club: three away wins in succession and victories in six of the last seven league matches overall.
Hurzeler’s side go to Arsenal four days after that, in the last 16 of the Carabao Cup. A trip to the Emirates Stadium holds no terrors either. Brighton have won or drawn there on four of their last five visits, including a 3-1 success in the third round of the Carabao Cup three years ago. Welbeck equalised on that occasion against one of his former clubs, and Mitoma was also on target.
One of the main reasons Brighton do well against the big guns of the division is by pressing with intensity and the talent they have to hurt opponents in transition. Hurzeler’s side have forced more high turnovers (56) — winning possession within 40 yards of the opponent’s goal — than any other team this season, with a league-high of 13 ending in a shot.
A good example came from the 3-1 win at Chelsea at the end of last month. Mitoma capitalised on a heavy touch from Andrey Santos inside his own half, pressing the Chelsea midfielder and forcing a poor pass, which led to a red card for Trevoh Chalobah for impeding Diego Gomez on the edge of the box. That was a rare highlight for Mitoma in a slow start to the season.
The Japan left-winger was substituted in the second half of the Chelsea match. He produced a passing assist for Brajan Gruda’s late winner at home to Manchester City in August (2-1) and headed an equaliser in the 2-1 defeat at Bournemouth in September, but he has not been as incisive or dangerous as before. “We all know and we all agree that he can play better, that he must have a bigger impact on our game, because he is a game-changer for us,” Hurzeler told reporters before the 1-1 draw away to Wolverhampton Wanderers in Brighton’s last fixture in early October.
Mitoma missed the Wolverhampton match with a minor ankle injury, which also ruled the 28-year-old out of Japan duty for home friendlies against Paraguay (drew 2-2) and Brazil (won 3-2). Brighton will benefit if Mitoma is fit and refreshed for tests against opponents he has hurt in the past — a goal and two assists against Manchester United last season, an assist against Newcastle in 2023-24, two goals against Arsenal in 2022-23.
Carlos Baleba has struggled since he was linked to Manchester United (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Baleba, depending on selection, will be up against three top midfielders — Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), and Declan Rice (Arsenal). An in-form Baleba would be a certainty for the starting line-up, but he has been way off the pace so far. He was substituted for the third time in the last six league games at Wolverhampton, Hurzeler avoiding the risk of a red card after the 21-year-old Cameroon international had been booked in the first half for a rash tackle.
Baleba’s early-season dip is more about what is in his head than his feet. Manchester United were interested in him during the summer transfer window. He was keen to make the move, but United did not pursue a deal after Brighton made it clear the asking price was in the ballpark of the £115million received from Chelsea for Moises Caicedo in 2023.
“He’s a very young human being. Unconsciously, there might be some noises in his head,” Hurzeler said of Baleba shortly before the window closed early in September. Hurzeler’s hope that Baleba would have “a free head” and “can just focus on football” once the window closed has not resulted in an improvement in performances. He gets down on himself if, for example, he misplaces a pass or shoots wildly off target.
Hurzeler noted before the Bournemouth defeat that “he demands a lot from himself, always wants to play perfect, always wants to do special things. But in these moments, it’s very important to focus just on the basics”.
Eyes will be on Baleba in the upcoming games, especially at Old Trafford. A big move to Manchester United or somewhere else next summer — Brighton do not usually sanction significant departures in the January window — will be governed by a return to the form last season that turned Baleba into such a hot property.
Big clubs and big moves have been commonplace for Welbeck, who turns 35 in November. The issue in the latter stages of his career is whether the former Manchester United, Arsenal and England forward has become more effective as an impact substitute than a starter. Four of Welbeck’s last seven goals have been match-winning contributions from the bench — including two at Chelsea this season and the clincher in extra time last season in the 2-1 victory at Newcastle in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
The difficulty for Hurzeler is that he is not currently blessed by a range of No 9 options until he deems that young Greek signings Stefanos Tzimas and Charalampos Kostoulas are ready for regular first-team action. That makes the German more inclined to start with Welbeck, as Rutter is the only alternative.
Rutter’s best form has been as the No 10, not No 9, since the 23-year-old Frenchman became Brighton’s record £40m buy from Leeds United in the summer of 2024. He has not been the same force following ankle ligament damage, which ruled him out from the end of March for the rest of the 2024-25 campaign.
Georginio Rutter is at his best in the No 10 role, not the No 9 (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Rutter’s best moment so far this season came in the opening 1-1 home draw against Fulham in August, using his pace and power in a forceful run into the opposing area from 35 yards out, which led to a foul in the box by Sander Berge and Matt O’Riley converting the resulting penalty. Rutter is more effective running from deep positions than linking play with his back to goal when tightly marked.
Joao Pedro was Brighton’s joint-top scorer with Welbeck and Mitoma in the Premier League last season, with 10 goals (Rutter got five in his truncated campaign). They have done well to spread the load since the Brazilian’s departure, nine players contributing to the overall tally of 10 goals. They have a wider range of threats, but the chances of more big results against the big guns will increase if the big players show up.
